The Fountain
by Catefaerie
Summary: Sydney & Nigel hunt for a legendary Greek artifact; but it seems the whole world is doing exactly the same
1. Prologue

The world over, people talk of 'The Fountain of Youth'. Many have tried to seek it out, but failed. Some argue that it went down with the lost continent of Atlantis, while some say that it does not exist; that it is simply a myth.

But the Greeks have a legend. A legend of not a fountain, but a chalice. A clay chalice that, no matter where it comes from or how it came to be there, any liquid poured into it will immediately hold the pour of eternal youth. 

Legend has it that the all-powerful God, Zeus, fell in love with a mortal named Hera. He wanted to make her his wife, but found he couldn't; because of her mortality, she could not enter Mount Olympus. Zeus had a chalice made, created from clay. He used it to give Hera immortality & she became his wife, bearing him a son, Hercules, and a daughter, Athena.

The story continues that the chalice was stolen by Zeus' evil and selfish brother, Hades, who believed that the power of this chalice could break the bonds which kept him condemned to being the God of the Underworld. However, when he drank from the cup, a most incredible thing happened. The water inside it choked him, filling his lungs and killing him. The chalice shook in his hand and exploded, the pieces scattering out across the world.

Zeus sent out his Gods to find them, but when they did so he decided that they should remain where they lay, so that no evil could take hold of it. He had two maps made; one which would lead a person to the pieces & one which would lead a person to death. These he took and ripped into four pieces each and scattered in the wind. The Legend remained.

*          *         *

"Don't move…" Sydney held her arms out, trying to balance herself, "One step could kill us."

"Really?" Nigel replied, sarcastically, "I hadn't noticed." He looked at depths of the whirlpool beneath them and gulped.

"Sydney, I should've known you would be here." A figure loomed in the shadows, hidden from view, but Sydney recognised the accent.

"Oh, for god's sake." Sydney rolled her eyes.

"Who is it?" Nigel asked.

The figure stepped out & smiled.

"François." Nigel frowned and tried to keep his balance.

The French man smirked, "Good to see you too Nigel. However, I am not in a position to make small talk. I am here to take that relic." His eyes shifted past them to the piece of pottery behind them.

"Why would you want that? It isn't gold & it can't be sold on the black market without the other pieces." Sydney asked.

"I don't want that. I want the gold beside it," François paused, "She wants the pottery."

A girl stepped out from behind him.

"And she is…?"

"I don't have time for this," the girl held up a hand. She looked at the revolving bar that Sydney and Nigel were balancing on. Slowly she backed and ran towards them. She launched herself over the gap, planted her hands upon the bar and swung onto solid ground. Running forward she grabbed the pottery and turned to them. "I'd get off that bar if I were you."

The ground began to shake and Sydney turned. Her end revolved towards Francoise, close enough for her to jump to safety. She turned back to Nigel, "C'mon, jump!"

"I can't, it's too far."

"If you don't jump now, you'll fall."

            The girl ran and jumped, landing perfectly on the bar. She grabbed Nigel's wrist and forced him to jump. The bar collapsed into the whirlpool & the four turned & fled, as walls crumbled behind them.

            Out in open air, Sydney bent over to catch her breath. She stood up, "Right, François…" her voice trailed off as she looked around for him. She looked up at a hill in the distance, where François turned and waved before running over the top.


	2. The Start

A/N: Okay firstly I forgot to put a disclaimer at the start so here it is.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Sydney, Nigel, Claudia or François. I don't Relic Hunter- don't sue me.

Secondly, that Legend isn't real. I made it up- don't sue me.

*****************

"Great… so close and it was stolen from us." Sydney slammed her briefcase down on her desk, "How could I have let this happen?"

"Sydney, it really isn't your fault." Nigel stood in the doorway.

"But it is; I should have jumped them when I had the chance."

"What's going on?" Claudia came to behind Nigel, a bottle of nail polish in her hand.

"Syd is blaming herself because we didn't get that artefact." Nigel explained.

"Oh, is that the Greek one? The one you have the map for?" Claudia asked.

Nigel turned & looked at her, puzzled, "How did you know that? It was barely mentioned to you & when it was you didn't even listen."

"I'm not the airhead you think I am," she said, with a cheeky smile on her face, walked to her desk & picked up a page, "And a Rufus Maxwell called asking if you had it."

"Damn!" Sydney pulled the sheet out of Claudia's hand. She looked at it, sat down & dialled. Claudia looked at Nigel, shrugged and went back to her perfect brush strokes. Nigel sighed and sat down, placing his hands on Sydney's desk.

"Rufus? Hi, it's Sydney Fox here. Yes, I know I was supposed to call. I know that you're on a tight schedule, I understand that." She rolled her eyes and sat forward, "It's just we have a problem. Well, it seems that others want this artefact too. Yeah, of course, but we're going to need a little more time. A week? Rufus, that's a very tight schedule. You _have_ employed the best but sometimes… yeah, of course… two weeks is fine. Of course… yeah, I'll see you there." She hung up & sighed.

"Didn't want to hear it then?" Nigel enquired.

She shook her head.

"Well, look, you must stop blaming yourself. If anyone is to blame its François, he's the one who's following us."

Sydney's head shot up, her eyes bright, "Nigel, you are brilliant." She jumped up and pulled the map out of her bag.

"What? What did I do?"

Sydney scanned the map, "If François is 'following' us then it's possible he has another map. If we can figure out where to go next then it's possible we'll catch him.

"Ah, Syd, one small problem. The legend tells us that only two maps were created; one to find the chalice… & one to kill the seeker. We don't know who's got which map."

"Yes but some ancient philosophers argued that only the end position was changed, so we could be following the same trail until the end. And besides, this map has been in existence for thousands of years… he could have a copy."

"Syd, I just…"

"Oh come on Nigel, it won't hurt."

"That's what you said the last time!" he watched her walk out and muttered, "And you very nearly got us killed."

*          *          *

"If this is correct, François should be in Killarney, in Co. Kerry." Nigel poured over the map as Sydney fastened her seatbelt in preparation to land in Dublin Airport, "We'll have to journey there and find a hotel."

Sydney looked out the window at the star-filled, night-time sky, "I think we should book into a hotel here in Dublin for tonight. It's getting late."

"Do you really want to wait? They could be gone before we get there."

"No, I know François. If this is all paid for, he'll stay in Dublin for a night. We should do the same."

"Okay." Nigel fastened his belt and prepared for descent.

*          *          *

Sydney dropped her case beside Nigel's early the next morning and leant towards him. "Morning!" she said in a loud voice.

"Ugh, Syd go away. You know I can't function on any less than 8 hours sleep. What normal person would get up at a godforsaken time like…" he looked at his watch, "… 10a.m.…"

"Come on, we've got to get going." She pulled him to his feet and handed him his case, "There's a car outside for us."

Nigel immediately perked up, "I think I'll drive. I have more experience driving on the _right side of the road."_

"No way. I rented the car, so I'm not letting you smash it up." Sydney snatched the keys back & lifted her case, "Well, come on."


	3. Allies

**A/N:** another disclaimer: the words in italics are all from published songs. The first verse is from Good Charlotte's 'Hold On'. The rest is from Sarah McLachlan's 'I Will Remember You', although I changed the last line to suit the story. I know it's a bit confusing but all will be revealed in future chapters.

*          *          *

Sydney took the key out of the receptionist's hand and smiled her thanks, while listening to Nigel's continuous babble behind her. She turned and picked up her bag and Nigel followed suit.

            "So, if this is correct, they will probably be staying somewhere in this area," Nigel still had the map in his hand, following Sydney towards the stairs.

"Like here, perhaps?" Sydney queried; her eyes on something dead ahead.

"Well, yes, but the probability of that happening is-" Nigel begin, looking up. His eyes followed hers to where Francois was standing. François looked round and saw them. He froze for a moment and then turned and bolted up the stairs.

Sydney flung her bag into Nigel's chest and threw the key on top, running after François.

"Great…" Nigel muttered and followed. He found them on the second floor, Sydney pinning François against the wall.

"Where is it?" Sydney was interrogating him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." François lied.

Sydney pulled his arm behind his back, "We can do this the hard way or the easy way."

"What the hell?" Nigel turned at the sound of a woman's voice behind him. As expected, she was the companion from before.

"Oh, it's you," he said.

"Yeah, it's me," she replied and looked at Sydney, "Put him down."

"Who the hell are you?" Sydney glared.

"Name's Alex, now put him down Sydney; you don't know where's he been."

Nigel watched in amazement as Sydney released François, "Sydney, what are you doing?"

Sydney shrugged her shoulders, "I don't have a clue… she just seemed to make sense."

"Yeah," François said, "It's sensible not to enrage me."

"Shut up, François!" Both girls said, simultaneously.

*          *          *

"So, you're searching for the relic for a museum, and François is just helping you…" Sydney sat with her coffee in her hand. "Don't get me wrong, François is a good hunter," she held up her hand when François opened his mouth to speak, "But he's notorious for being in hunts for himself and no-one else. It's about as much gold as he can get his hands on."

The smug smile disappeared from François's face and appeared on Nigel's.

            "That I know, believe me, but François is like family. Our parent's were good friends and he is my brother's _best_ friend. I trust him." The 20 year old, blue-eyed, auburn-haired beauty, now known as Alexandria Connolly, sat back.

Sydney sat in thoughtful silence for a moment, "The perhaps we should join forces. I enjoy a good hunt."

"But Syd, what about Maxwell?" Nigel asked.

"Oh, screw Maxwell; he's an idiot anyway." Sydney replied, "As long as the chalice goes to a museum, I'm happy." She stood up, "Why don't you show Alex what we have so far. François and I have a lot of catching up to do."

            Nigel rolled his eyes and signalled for Alex to follow him. They took the lift to François and Alex's room, where François had left all the books and manuscripts. Tara unlocked the door and opened onto a grand room. It had a breakfast area, with a sofa and coffee table, a desk and a large bed standing against the far wall, but the focus of the room was the fireplace. Nigel was immediately drawn to it, examining it.

"It's neo-gothic, probably post 1560." Alex told him.

"It's beautiful." Nigel said, his head close to it.

"I know," Alex pulled a case onto the large, wooden table that stood beside the doors to the balcony. She opened it to reveal endless amounts of books, "This is what we have."

Nigel's eyes lit up as he pawed through the collection, "Looks like you've got a library here…"

Alex laughed, "Yeah… well, I'm nothing if I don't have my references."

"Greek Mythology… Roman Mythology… Celtic Histories… good lord…" Nigel carefully lifted out a very old, very fragile book, "This is… is this…?"

Alex nodded, "Yep… Socrates' theory of hierarchy."

"But… but I thought this book was a myth." Nigel set it down and pulling out his glasses, began to read through it carefully, "If this is genuine then it can…"

"It can prove that Socrates was the first father of evolution, and that Darwin's main ideas come from this book." Alex supplied.

Nigel carefully turned a leaf, as Alex bent over to read over his shoulder. Alex looked at him, his eyes devouring every word. "You can read that?" she asked.

Nigel nodded, "I am fluent in many ancient languages, as well as many modern ones.

"Wow, I can only speak five modern and one ancient." Alex told him, "Well, I understand the written form of ancient Egyptian, but I can't speak it."

Nigel looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and then shook his head, "Sorry, this isn't what we're here for."

"Oh yeah," Alex went to her bedside cabinet and lifted a very ordinary-looking novel. She opened it at a specific page and pulled out a piece of parchment. She smiled at Nigel, "Thieves would never think to look in here."

Moving some books out of the way, she carefully unfolded the parchment in front of him revealing a section of a map. Nigel pulled his and Sydney's section and placed above the first. "They are identical…" he said.

"Not quite…" Alex replied. She pointed to the edge of his map, "There is a line here that isn't in my map." Suddenly she was struck with a thought. She reached into the case and pulled out a book on ancient hieroglyphics. "My grandfather taught me to read ancient Egyptian with this book…" she flicked through it, "and I hid this piece… here!" She pulled out another piece of a map, "It didn't seem to fit my map, so I thought it was the opposite corner, but…" She lined it up with Nigel's map, fitting it perfectly, "there!"

Nigel bent down to look at it, "So the next stop after this is… ironically, Egypt."

Alex smiled, "Exactly why I hid it in the Hieroglyphics book."

"Only one problem…" Nigel murmured.

"What?"

"One of these maps is either a copy, or… or the one that will lead us astray."

Alex stared at the maps for a moment before deciding, "Well, either way I'm following the map to Egypt because it is believed that-"

"That only the end is changed," Nigel cut her off, "I know." He looked at her for a moment. She was a hard puzzle to solve… she showed an intellectual side with all her books and knowledge like himself, but in many ways she reminded him of Sydney; the strength, the decisiveness and probably stubborn too. Even the clothes she wore made him think of someone like… what was her name? That stupid computer game… Lara Croft? He was almost certain that was her name. He looked at her clothes; black combat trousers, a white vest and hiking boots… definitely an adventurous type.

She lifted a bag and a towel, "Well, if we're finished here I'm going to head down to the gym. Why don't you tell Sydney about this?"

Nigel nodded and, lifting his stuff, held the door open.

"Thanks." Alex smiled and let him past, before locking the door.

*          *          *

_This world, this world is cold_

_But you don't, you don't have to go_

_You're feeling sad, you're feeling lonely_

_And no-one seem to care_

Alex slowly stepped up the speed of the treadmill until she could run to the beat of the music in her head.

_Remember the good times that we had_

_We let them slip away from us when things got bad_

_Lately I foresaw you smiling in the sun_

_When I feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one_

Her feet matched the rhythm pounding in her head. She ran towards an unreachable goal, sweat dripping from her.

_I'm so tired, but I can't sleep_

_Standing on the edge of something much to deep_

_It's funny how I feel so much, but cannot say a word_

_We are screaming inside, but can't be heard_

Soft tears mingled with the sweat that now lined her face.

_I will remember you_

_Will you remember me?_

_Don't let your life pass you by_

_Weep not for the memories_

"Alex… ALEXANDRIA!" François' voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"What?!" she cried.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

François looked at her sceptically but, knowing her, changed the subject, "Sydney and I are going for dinner. We wondered if you would like to join us."

"Is Nigel going?"

"No, he has gone to the public library. He is, how you say, pouring over his books as usual."

"Then I won't go…" Alex replied, quickly adding, "I don't want to be a third wheel."

François smiled slightly, "Okay. I will see you tonight."

"Yeah, sure you will…" Alex muttered as she watched him leave, "More like tomorrow morning."

*          *          *

Nigel knocked on Alex's door later that night, hoping that she would be in. He blushed slightly when the door opened revealing Alex in a pair of cotton trousers and a strapped top; obviously her nightwear.

"Yeah?" Alex asked, adjusting the turban-style wrap on her head.

"Look, I don't mean to bother you. I was just wondering whether I could sleep on the sofa. It's just…" he began to blush again.

Alex smiled at the cuteness of his discomfort before catching herself. "Live sex show in your room?" she enquired.

"Something like that." Nigel replied.

"Come on in." Alex stepped back to let him enter and closed the door behind him.


End file.
